Photographic legacy of a man of vision

November 2011

by Robert Lovie

Here in the North-East we are proud of our language and dialects, and rich oral tradition. Now we have an amazing photographic record to keep our story alive for future generations.

The James Morrison Photographic collection is a depiction of life in rural Aberdeenshire in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods – hundreds of portraits of families and farm workers, their farms and crofts, and particularly, the horse and the men who worked the land.

Quite a number of the photographs were taken north of Aberdeen – Belhelvie, Menie and Udny areas; also Ellon, Methlick and Auchnagatt.

The 650 glass plate negatives had been in the possession of the Buchan Heritage Society for many years. Their value was realised, but the society did not have the expertise to care for them. With the generous help of Aberdeenshire Council, the collection was lodged for security in the Museum of Farming Life at Mintlaw, and there they remained, untouched, until recently.

The 650 plates and 40 framed pictures were transferred from the collection by the late Eric Ellington, a wonderful photographer and supporter.

Thanks to superb conservation work recently undertaken by the society, the glass plate negatives are now available for all of us to share, enjoy and learn from.

Scullery darkroom at Stoneyards

James Morrison was born in 1865, the eldest of five children, to farmer’s son William Morrison and his wife Jane Murray at Newseat of Schivas in the parish of Tarves. The family moved to Stoneyards of Belhelvie, a 50-acre farm, around 1870.

In the 1880s James took up photography. As his enthusiasm grew he had a scullery at Stoneyards farm, where he worked alongside his father, converted into a darkroom. Although an amateur, he possessed a high degree of skill and produced photographs of very fine quality.

James was a sociable man who played the pipes and the fiddle and had a deep interest in the tradition. He was a distinguished member of the Coastguard service, and served for 50 years. He married Helen Riddell in 1911 and, after his father’s death, supported his family of three children by manufacturing, mending and selling bicycles at Menie in the parish of Belhelvie.

Their son, also James, became a policeman in London; their two daughters, Mary and Rosa, never married but stayed in the family home at Menie.

Little did James think as he cycled – and later motorcycled – around rural Aberdeenshire taking photographs, that his view of country life would be preserved and admired in perpetuity.

The great Buchan fairm toons

By 1925 he was aware that methods were changing quickly, that traditions were dying, and that life would never again be the same in the great Buchan fairm toons.

Today, we can still understand what life was like 100 years ago. I can ask my father, a Buchan farmer who was born in 1938, about his memories of North-East farming life when he was a loon. He can recall his father’s stories from late Victorian times; but all too soon there will come a day when there is no-one alive to remember, to recall at first hand.

What was a chaumer, they will ask? What did a binder look like? How many pairs of working horse did an average Buchan farm need? What were nicky tams and brose caps? And what did the folk wear then?

Sandy May, president of the Buchan Heritage Society, picks up the story: “The collection was discovered in 1985 in an old blocked up cupboard in the farmhouse at Stoneyards, Belhelvie, where James Morrison had lived.

“Mr and Mrs Sibald, the owners of Stoneyards in 1985, discovered the glass plates during renovations to the house.

“The plates were later passed to the Buchan Heritage Society, giving them sole ownership and copyright, with the support and approval of James Morrison’s two daughters.

“We are indeed fortunate to have unearthed material of such historical and social significance.

“No other photographer captured Aberdeenshire life in such detail, or so perfectly in terms of quality and quantity, as James Morrison, who died at Menie in 1952 and is buried in Belhelvie kirkyard.”

I believe that current generations have a romantic image of what life was like in rural Aberdeenshire. We can speak our heritage, sing it, hear it – and now we can see it. It is up to us to preserve our traditions, of the life, language, song, music of our unique North-East culture.

And here we must say thank you to the Heritage Lottery Fund, without which this collection would not be here today.

The other huge debt of gratitude is due to the committee, and particularly to Sandy May and his wife Vi, who painstakingly pursued the funding needed to conserve, digitise and to make available to the nation this rare collection.

For Sandy and Vi this is a work in progress. Already they have given months, years, to bringing this vast collection to fruition. Their labour of love continues, as they try to discover the names of the people in the photographs, to link them with current generations before more is lost and forgotten.

We hope that when the photographs go on display the public will help us identify more of the houses and fairm toons in the collection. This in turn will help us identify the people. Once we have names we can use valuation rolls, etc., to find the farmers, tenants and servants of the time.

Descendents of the people in the prints could be a great help. There must be many similar copies hidden away in the attic or in granny’s photo box.

Thanks to Sandy May, chairman of the Buchan Heritage Society, for his painstaking research into the life of James Morrison and his work. If you can add any information, please get in touch. Every little fact helps build a greater picture, enhances the story of our rich heritage for future generations. Contact Sandy May, 01779 821301 or the Buchan Heritage website on www.buchanheritagesociety.co.uk

Robert Lovie, singer and entertainer, is property manager at the National Trust for Scotland Fyvie Castle, north-west of Aberdeen.

This is an article from the November 2011 edition of Leopard Magazine. To read much more like this every month, subscribe to Leopard Magazine.